Sasuke Uchiha
Sasuke Uchiha (うちはサスケ, Uchiha Sasuke) is one of the last surviving members of Konohagakure's Uchiha clan. After his older brother, Itachi, slaughtered their clan, Sasuke made it his mission in life to avenge them by killing Itachi. He is added to Team 7 upon becoming a ninja and, through competition with his rival and best friend, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke starts developing his skills. Dissatisfied with his progress, he defects from Konoha so that he can acquire the strength needed to exact his revenge. His years of seeking vengeance and his actions that followed become increasingly demanding, irrational and isolates him from others, leading him to be branded as an international criminal. After learning the truth of his brother's sacrifice and later proving instrumental in ending the Fourth Shinobi World War and being happily redeemed by Naruto, Sasuke decides to return to Konoha and dedicates his life to help protect the village and its inhabitants becoming referred to as the "Supporting Kage" (支う影, Sasaukage). Background Early Life Sasuke is the second and youngest son of Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha; they named him after Sasuke Sarutobi in the hopes that he would someday be just as strong of a shinobi. Sasuke grew up in the shadow of his older brother, Itachi, a natural prodigy who many in the Uchiha clan and the village would constantly compare Sasuke and any of his accomplishments to Itachi. Sasuke himself adored Itachi, never passing up an opportunity to spend time with him. Although Itachi welcomed his company, letting Sasuke watch him train and taking him on adventures into the forests, Itachi in return rarely helped Sasuke himself become a better shinobi; when asked, he would often instead poke Sasuke's forehead and promise to do so some other time. Sasuke found this annoying, but didn't allow it to blemish his high opinion of his brother. On entering the Konoha Ninja Academy, Sasuke proved to be the standout of his class, consistently getting top grades. However, he could never meet the same milestones Itachi had set, resulting in their father paying Sasuke little attention. Aware of this neglect, Itachi, despite being increasingly busy, tried to stand in for their father by giving Sasuke the recognition he craved, at times even blackmailing Fugaku to spend time with Sasuke. As time went on, Itachi started becoming distant with and cold towards their family, culminating in a falling out with much of the Uchiha clan on their suspicion that he'd killed his best friend, Shisui Uchiha. Sasuke did not understand the reason for this, but he didn't mind the side-effect: his father began taking an interest in his development. Fugaku taught Sasuke how to perform the Great Fireball Technique, which he mastered in a week. Fugaku stated his pride in Sasuke for this accomplishment, but at the same time encouraged him not to follow in Itachi's footsteps. After a long day of training, Sasuke returned home one night to find the streets littered with the bodies of the Uchiha. He rushed home to notify his family of this Uchiha Clan Massacre, only to find Itachi standing over the bodies of their parents. Sasuke tried to solicit help and comfort from Itachi, who responded by using Tsukuyomi on him to torment him with visions of him murdering their family. Horrified by what Itachi had done, Sasuke pleaded for an explanation, to which Itachi replied that it was to test his own power. Fearful that he would be next, Sasuke tried to run. Itachi cornered him and explained that Sasuke, as he then was, would not be worth killing. Only by becoming stronger, such as by acquiring his own Mangekyō Sharingan, could he prove a worthwhile challenge to Itachi's abilities. Before leaving, Itachi encouraged Sasuke to hate him, to desire revenge, and to gain power from that. Sasuke immediately followed through, pursuing Itachi and using his newly-awakened Sharingan to attack him. The attack failed and Sasuke passed out, but not before glimpsing Itachi crying; Sasuke would forget this had happened for many years. Sasuke, now one of the last surviving Uchiha, was alone. He spent the first few days after the massacre wandering his family's compound, reflecting on the people who were now gone, killed by Itachi. Sasuke decided to do what Itachi had instructed and dedicated his life to vengeance, having no other interest than bringing about Itachi's death. He threw himself into his studies at the Academy, making no efforts to form friendships and ignoring all of the girls' attempts to gain his affection. One of his classmates, Naruto, disliked Sasuke's cool personality and the attention he received and developed a one-sided rivalry in his pursuit to prove himself just as good as, if not better than, Sasuke. For his part, Sasuke thought little of Naruto and was usually annoyed by his outbursts, but would, at times, secretly smile at how hard Naruto worked because of him. Ironically, for all the attention he received, Naruto was the only person among his peers who understood Sasuke due to the painful experiences he had. Personality Sasuke was a happy child, eager to please and be worthy of his family name. This changed after his entire family was killed by Itachi, the person he most admired in the world. He became cold toward others, unmoved by and uninterested in what they do or think of him, choosing instead to keep to himself. He stopped using honourifics like "sensei" or "sama", something considered rude in the Japanese language. His only goal in life became to take revenge for his family's deaths and, by extension, acquire the power needed for that revenge, even if it meant acquiring an external power that wasn't his own. The pursuit of power, difficult enough on its own, is something that Sasuke repeatedly struggles with. Whenever he meets new people, he makes an evaluation of their abilities: those he perceives to be weaker than himself he arrogantly disregards, giving them as little attention as possible so that they won't hold him back; those he perceives as stronger he fixates over and tries to surpass, especially when he believes he should be their equal. As a member of Team 7, he is repeatedly exposed to Kakashi Hatake's philosophy that there is strength in teamwork. For a time, Sasuke accepts this, experiencing it first-hand on several of Team 7's missions. He even starts becoming attached to his teammates and starts to forget the vengeance he craved. But when he meets Itachi again in Part I and is summarily defeated, Sasuke decides the team is making him weak and chooses to leave them and Konoha entirely, focusing solely on himself. Prior to Sasuke's defection, Kakashi tries to point out the contradiction in Sasuke's viewpoint: he is driven to gain power because he lost his family, yet sacrifices the family he still has (Team 7) in order to gain that power. In Part II, Sasuke allows Orochimaru to experiment on him as long as he becomes stronger, only to turn against Orochimaru for using him in the first place and acquires new teammates with abilities that could further his goals. Sasuke initially set a no-kill policy for himself and his team against those unrelated to his revenge. This was dropped as his hatred increased: at the Kage Summit, he slaughtered numerous samurai in cold blood and recklessly challenged the five Kage before killing Danzō Shimura; he tries to kill Karin and Team 7 when they impede or attempt to dissuade him from his objectives; he allies with Tobi and Akatsuki when their goals align, but leaves them without comment when he no longer needs them. His abandonment of all his former loyalties and his criminal acts convince his former classmates that Sasuke is beyond salvation. After his final encounter with Itachi, Sasuke is left uncertain about what course to take; Orochimaru hypothesises this indecision is due to Sasuke, for the first time, being without anybody to tell him what to do. From long contemplation, Sasuke decides that the desire for retribution that drove him for so long is the perfect solution to the world's problems: if a single individual, what Sasuke calls the "Hokage", is solely responsible for making the difficult decisions, killing and the like for the greater good, then everybody will be unified in their hatred of that individual. He volunteers himself for that responsibility and, in order to prepare himself, plans to eliminate what few friendships he still has, namely Naruto. But Naruto, by refusing to give up on saving Sasuke from darkness, demonstrates that their friendship is too fundamental to who Sasuke is and that it cannot nor should not be broken. On coming to terms with this, Sasuke stops fighting the many bonds he's made and chooses to die so the Curse of Hatred would die along with him. However, after further convincing from Naruto, Sasuke chose to live to find redemption instead. Afterwards, Naruto returned Sasuke's forehead protector, which Sasuke keeps on him during his long travels as a symbol of their friendship before passing it to Boruto. One of Sasuke's most significant bonds is the one he has with his older brother, Itachi, who by merely being mentioned can elicit strong reactions from Sasuke's otherwise calm demeanour. Sasuke adored Itachi when he was a boy, enjoying his company above all others'; as an infant, he would cry whenever he was held by someone besides Itachi and would immediately be happy once held by his big brother again. When Itachi murdered the rest of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke was crushed not only by the loss of his family but also by what Itachi told him: that he had never loved Sasuke. Sasuke devotes years of his life to avenging their family by killing Itachi, which Itachi encourages whenever they meet. Sasuke is accordingly careful not to follow Itachi's instructions too closely, such as by not acquiring a Mangekyō Sharingan, as he doesn't want Itachi to have the satisfaction. After Itachi dies in battle with Sasuke, however, Sasuke learns that the hateful older brother that Itachi seemed to be was all an act and that, in truth, Sasuke was the most precious person to Itachi; his murder of the Uchiha was done on the instructions of Konoha, in order to protect Sasuke. Sasuke becomes overwhelmed by this discovery and starts conspiring against Konoha and all its citizens for ruining his and Itachi's lives, knowing full well it isn't what Itachi would want him to do. He changes his mind after he is able to speak to a reincarnated Itachi, adopting some of Itachi's views: he decides to fight for Konoha's future so that Itachi's actions aren't made meaningless and bases his understanding of the "Hokage" around the decisions Itachi made. He also starts poking the foreheads of others as a sign of affection, something Itachi used to always do with him. Sasuke pokes Sakura's forehead.png|Sasuke shows a sign of affection towards Sakura... Sasuke pokes Sarada's forehead.png|...And Sarada. Sasuke first met Sakura Haruno when they were children in the Academy, where his good looks caused her to become infatuated with him, which later grew into love. On his part, Sasuke was aware that Sakura had feelings for him, but he showed no interest in her and considered her to be annoying. After they became teammates, they began to interact more and acknowledge each other's strengths and weaknesses, causing Sasuke to think of her as someone he needs to protect. Despite being grateful of how much she is willing to make him happy, he still abandons the prospect of being with her to pursue revenge and defect Konoha. By the time the Fourth Shinobi World War gets underway, Sasuke had became so consumed with hatred that he was willing to kill Sakura. After the war, a redeemed Sasuke apologizes to Sakura for how much he hurt her and she tearfully forgives him, allowing them to reconcile. They later maintain a long distant relationship while he pursues a journey of redemption. They later marry and have a daughter, Sarada. As a father, Sasuke seems to be a loving and doting one, as he can never bear to see Sarada sad and is willing to do anything to make her happy. However, Sasuke seems to be emotionally distant with his family for the sake of his duties, though he feels a strong connection to them when they are apart. Sasuke loves his daughter dearly, as he puts her safety before his own, and promises her to come home before returning on his travelling. While Sasuke is happy in his marriage to Sakura, he enjoys teasing her by declining to show her affection. As an adult, Sasuke becomes wiser and mature, as well as genuinely warm and caring, although he retains his habit of insulting others, albeit more comically than coldly, and mostly towards Naruto. Although he fulfills Itachi's wish for him to live and protect Konoha, his duty of protecting it from the shadows and investigating the mysteries of Kaguya leave Sasuke unable to spend time with his family, to the point where he failed to recognise his daughter Sarada. Sasuke takes his duties as a shinobi and a father seriously: he spends most of his daughter's childhood investigating threats greater than Kaguya; he is protective of Sarada and is very supportive of her goal to become Hokage and not end up like him. Sasuke admits his mistakes as a father, but he has strong parenting skills, as he has faith in Sarada's abilities. Nevertheless, Sasuke loves his family dearly, as he tries to spend time with them when he is able to come home, and expresses pride in his daughter's growth and achievements. Appearance Sasuke_Part_I.png|Sasuke's appearance for most of Part I Sasuke_Exams.png|Sasuke during the Chūnin Exams. Sasuke's chakra.png Sasuke's development.png According to Hashirama Senju, Sasuke bears a strong resemblance to Izuna Uchiha: he has black eyes and spiky black hair. Sasuke's hair has hung over his face as bangs since he was a child, which as he gets older he allows to grow longer and, in turn, cover more of his face; by adulthood, his hair completely covers the left side of his face. He is considered handsome by most girls near his age. Sasuke's typical clothing has changed a number of times throughout his life, but the Uchiha clan's crest is usually present somewhere on his clothing, such as the back or his shirt collar. For most of Part I, he wears a navy blue, short-sleeved shirt with a high collar, white shorts, and, for a time, white arm warmers. During the Chunin Exams' finals he wears a black, one-pieced version of this usual attire with many small belts adorning his left arm and similar bands around both legs. He wears a blue-clothed forehead protector with both of these outfits, but starts wearing it less and less after being hospitalised by Itachi, finally abandoning it entirely at the end of Part I. In Part II, Sasuke consistently wears dark blue pants, over which hangs a blue cloth that covers him from his stomach to his knees, which he secures with a purple rope belt; as is common to Orochimaru and his followers. He initially complements this with a white long-sleeved shirt kept open at the torso and black arm guards that cover his forearms. Leading up to and during his battle with Itachi, he replaces this top with a sleeveless dark grey shirt and the arm guards with bandages on his wrists. He switches after Itachi's death, wearing a white (grey in the anime) zippered, high-collared, short-sleeved shirt and blue wrist warmers. He wears a hooded cloak over his clothing at different points, usually an unadorned black one during his pursuit of Itachi alongside Hebi, and for a brief time, sported the trademark Akatsuki cloak, only with a hood instead of the regular high collar. Sasuke loses his left arm at the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War, though unlike Naruto, he opts not to have it replaced with a prosthetic that was being prepared for him. In The Last: Naruto the Movie, he wears a black high-collared shirt, a midriff-exposing flak jacket, and light blue pants. Most of this goes unseen, as he wears a tattered light brown poncho over it. He wraps bandages around his ankles and a blue sash around his head during this appearance. In Sasuke Shinden: Book of Sunrise, he wears a black cloak over a black shirt and pants with a white belt and white bandages wrapped up to his knees on both legs. In his later adulthood, Sasuke dons a black cloak with purple lining, and an grey, long-sleeved, collared shirt, over which he wears a periwinkle vest. He also wears black pants, a purple belt, and dark grey fingerless glove on his remaining hand. He once again wears his forehead protector, letting it hang from his left hip. In Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Sasuke's outfit is revised, having his black cloak gain a storm flap, a maroon cinch on the collar, and maroon lining. His long-sleeved shirt gains light grey cuffs, and he wears a pair of brown leather belts with a black sheath for his sword, a brown shuriken holster, and brown shinobi boots. Abilities Like his older brother Itachi, Sasuke is recognised as a natural prodigy of the Uchiha clan, graduating at the top of his class in the Academy. He makes a strong impression on Kakashi Hatake in the bell test and fights on par with strong shinobi such as Haku and Gaara in Part I. Powerful individuals have noted Sasuke's great potential: Orochimaru offers to help drastically increase his power; Madara Uchiha notes he would have liked to recruit Sasuke had he only been born a few years earlier. Under Orochimaru's tutelage for two-and-a-half years, Sasuke grows strong enough to fight members of Akatsuki, such as Deidara and Itachi, two of the Five Kage, and defeat Danzō Shimura, one of Konoha's strongest ninja. With the Six Paths Chakra, he could help overwhelm Madara as the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, and Kurama compared Sasuke's prowess to that of the Sage of Six Paths. As an adult, despite losing his left arm, he could defeat all the kekkei genkai shinobi of the Coliseum without using his Sharingan , and years later could fight on par with Kinshiki Ōtsutsuki. As such, he is regarded as a legendary shinobi and one of the most powerful alive, with Naruto being the only individual capable of defeating him in battle. Naruto views him as being capable of taking the world on in a fight. "Planet powers" He can jump to planets Chakra and Physical Prowess Sasuke's chakra is quite strong, in part due to being the reincarnation of Indra Ōtsutsuki. Though this quality is never really touched upon in Part I, it is frequently noted in Part II; whenever Sasuke's Curse of Hatred deepens, others remark how much stronger, darker, and more sinister his chakra becomes. His reserves are also quite large, enough to use Chidori twice a day during Part I without aid. By Part II, Sasuke is able to use Chidori and related techniques multiple times in a single day, as well as summon creatures as large as Manda. His chakra control, though less refined than Sakura Haruno's, is nevertheless very high. In the anime, he could effectively perform hand seals between his own and an enemy's hand. In adulthood, after losing one of his arms, he learned to use one-handed hand seals. While not an actual sensor himself, therefore unable to detect or track targets by their chakra, during his final battle against Naruto, he sensed Naruto's build-up of chakra and natural energy from Kurama. Also, in sharing half of Hagoromo's power with Naruto, he is also able to sense Naruto's chakra from a different dimension. However, Sasuke has not shown the ability to sense anyone else's chakra as he can with Naruto. Sasuke is very capable in taijutsu, enough to hold his own in hand-to-hand combat against multiple opponents at once. His most consistent physical display is his speed, and by extension his reaction time: Haku remarks on how impressive Sasuke is in both regards during their battle. After re-awakening his Sharingan, Sasuke concentrates on honing his speed and reflexes so that he can react to the Sharingan's heightened visual information, which he accomplishes by imitating Rock Lee's movements. His speed is even shown able to match, if not exceed various other fast techniques like Shield of Sand or Lightning Release Chakra Mode respectively, and enough to physically incapacitate opponents before they realise he's even approached them. Between his increased speed and taijutsu prowess, it becomes very difficult for his opponents to find enough time to perform even a single hand seal. Sakura, after re-encountering Sasuke for the first time in Part II, finds the improvement to his abilities unnaturally high and hypothesises that he was given drugs by Orochimaru. Orochimaru is known to have experimented on Sasuke, enough to make him immune to poisons, but it's not known what other modifications he may have received. He acquires some of Orochimaru's attributes after absorbing him, such as additional chakra reserves, a faster healing rate, and the ability to shed his body, all of which are lost when Orochimaru is removed from him. He later receives half of Hagoromo's power, which he evidently is able to keep. Cursed Seal '''Orochimaru brands Sasuke with the Cursed Seal of Heaven after their first encounter in Part I. When active, the cursed seal saps Sasuke's own chakra and replaces it with a larger amount of Orochimaru's, in turn increasing his strength and speed. Though useful, Sasuke's early uses of the cursed seal are often involuntary, painful while active, and leave him briefly unable to move afterwards. These shortcomings are either minimised or eliminated once he becomes able to enter the cursed seal's second state: a transformation that turns his skin grey, lengthens his hair, and causes him to develop wings. The transformation's boosts to his physical parameters are similar to a jinchuriki''s version 1 forms, which by Part II he can isolate to parts of his body. Itachi removes the cursed seal from Sasuke's body during Part II, preventing him from using it again. However, he remains compatible with the cursed seal's source, Jugo, allowing Jūgo to provide him flesh or chakra if the need arises. '''Ninjutsu Sasuke learns to summon snakes during his time with Orochimaru. He typically summons them as shields, rapid ground transportation, or to targets. Unseen outside of the Animal Path, Sasuke can also summon a second animal species: hawks. His use of hawks is more limited than snakes, using them only for flight and the additional manoeuvrability that allows. By adulthood, Sasuke is able to use the Shadow Clone Technique, able to easily produce eight clones at once. Kenjutsu By Part II, Sasuke became a highly skilled user of kenjutsu and acquired a chokuto, which become a major part of his fighting style. Later on he names his sword as the "Sword of Kusanagi". His skill could defeat hundreds of Oto-nin unscathed without killing them, as well as kill multiple samurai, even deflecting their barrage of chakra blasts. Sasuke's swordsmanship was even acknowledged by Mifune, a famous sword master after he effectively blocked the samurai's attack. His lethal swordsmanship is very versatile, using impressive speed and precision behind his attacks to leave little time for enemies to react. He can effectively wield it in either hand using a normal or reverse grip, giving him various attack and defence styles to use. He can use his blade as a mid-range projectile with great precision. By adulthood, Sasuke becomes skilled enough to instantly switch between wielding his sword backhanded and normally even during a clash. Bukijutsu As an Uchiha, Sasuke is trained with a variety of different ninja tools. When he was a child, he once used (inexpertly) a bow and arrow to hunt a boar with Itachi, practice that later becomes useful for his Susanoo. His area of expertise is in shurikenjutsu, allowing him to throw shuriken and kunai with precision; for complicated or moving targets, Sasuke can guide shuriken to their mark using either wire strings or deflecting them off each other. Though his throwing speed is faster than most, it doesn't compare to Itachi, prompting him to devise the Lightning Flash Blade Creation: by sealing shuriken and kunai into his arm bracelets, Sasuke can always have a large supply ready, allowing him to barrage targets in an instant. Sasuke begins using a sword after training with Orochimaru, wielding it just as skillfully in either hand. He uses what he calls his "Sword of Kusanagi" regularly throughout Part II, often to cut down multiple opponents in a short period of time. He uses it defensively as well, blocking incoming attacks or holding off skilled swordsmen; Mifune, a samurai, praises Sasuke's swordsmanship. By adulthood, Sasuke becomes skilled enough to instantly switch between wielding his sword backhanded and normally even during a clash. Shurikenjutsu Sasuke is also well-versed in usage of kunai and shuriken, showing tremendous aim while still in the Academy. Tactically, he can use techniques like hiding a second shuriken in the shadow of the first and control the path of them using wire strings to ensnare an opponent with the strings. Sasuke's aim and tactical skills are almost on par with Itachi, able to effectively hit targets in a blind-spot by accurately deflecting one kunai off another. Since his battle with Itachi in Part II, he wears a pair of bracelets with a special seal to instantly summon shuriken and kunai of various size and shape, becoming able to unleash a large barrage at a blazing speed that rivals that of his brother's. After launching, he can perform a sneak attack by rigging the blades to disconnect and launch them into separate directions. Sasuke can also enhance the cutting power of his weapons by infusing them with his lightning chakra. Kyujutsu Fuinjutsu Nature Transformation Sasuke can use all five basic nature transformations, as well as Yin Release; two of which he could utilise at the age of 13. As an Uchiha, he has a natural affinity for Fire Release, mastering the clan's Great Fireball Technique years before becoming a genin, a feat which greatly shocked Kakashi. Sasuke can also coat fire around his shuriken, guide his flames along wire strings, or create a succession of dragon-shaped fireballs. His Fire Release-prowess is shown strong enough to easily disperse most Water Release technique. Sasuke's other natural affinity is Lightning Release, the he learns from Kakashi. While effective at piercing most targets, the standard Chidori is a very close-range attack. For this reason, Sasuke uses the principles of Chidori to create several long-range jutsu in Part II, such as throwable needles, extendable swords, and scattershot streams. He often channels his lightning chakra into his Sword of Kusanagi to increase its cutting power. When using his cursed seal or the Six Paths Chakra, his lightning chakra becomes darker in colour, though it's not clear if this changes its actual properties in any way. Chidori Dōjutsu Sharingan Sasuke first awakened his Sharingan on the night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall, though he isn't able to do so again until several years later, at the start of Part I. Sasuke's Sharingan is especially potent, as Orochimaru noted that despite not being fully developed at the time, it was even stronger and greater in clarity than Itachi's. Later, his prowess and skill with his fully matured dōjutsu earned him the nickname "Sasuke of the Sharingan" (写輪眼のサスケ, Sharingan no Sasuke). With the Sharingan, Sasuke can see the flow of chakra, accurately reproduce any movement he sees (his own physical skill permitting), track fast-moving objects, and, by the end of Part I, predict opponents' movement to a degree. He can also use Genjutsu: Sharingan for broad purposes such as distraction, interrogation, knocking targets out, or placing them under his control. He can use his Sharingan to relay information to others or enter their subconscious, which in the case of jinchuriki allows him to suppress their tailed beasts. Mangekyō Sharingan Sasuke awakens his Mangekyō Sharingan after Itachi's death, once he comes to terms with the fact that Itachi was the single most significant relationship he had. Its design gives the appearance of three intersecting ellipses. Sasuke is warned before receiving his Mangekyō that using it deteriorates the user's eyesight, and for that reason, Tobi repeatedly recommends that Sasuke take Itachi's eyes to gain "eternal" Mangekyō. Sasuke puts off doing this until he's nearly blind, just before the start of the Fourth Shinobi World War; the transplanted eyes resemble a cross between Sasuke's and Itachi's Mangekyō. His Eternal Mangekyō is a "straight tomoe" (直巴, Choku Tomoe) type, granting him fluidity in his movements when fighting. Sasuke's acquisition of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan seemingly enhanced his mastery of its techniques. Before, he was quick to exhaust himself both physically and chakra wise when he would overuse his power. After acquiring it, he was able to repeatedly use its powers against Kabuto, Obito, Madara, and Kaguya with no signs of exhaustion. With his left Mangekyō, Sasuke can use Amaterasu, igniting whatever he looks at with black flames that can burn anything. With his right Mangekyō, he can use Kagutsuchi to shape the flames into a variety of forms for offensive or defensive purposes. This ability to manipulate his Amaterasu makes him more skilled than Itachi was with his own. Having awakened the Mangekyō in both his eyes, Sasuke can use Susanoo, a spectral warrior that protects him and acts on his behalf. It takes repeated uses before he's able to fully form Susanoo. Its evolutions are often marked by moments of intense hatred. Initially, Sasuke can only create Susanoo's skeletal features, such as ribs for defence or arms to interact with his surroundings. He is steadily able to layer musculature and skin over the bones, and later armour to increase its defences. Upon receiving the Rinnegan, with its supreme ocular power, he is able to create the significantly larger Complete Body — Susanoo, comparable in power to Tailed Beast Mode. Like all Susanoo, Sasuke's has several swords at its disposal that it can use against larger targets or to easily destroy nearby structures. More commonly, his Susanoo employs a bow that can fire arrows at rapid speeds and that can, when needed, double as a shield. Though most of these arrows are made of the same chakra as Susanoo itself, Sasuke can also fashion arrows made from Amaterasu's flames or, by channelling the tailed beasts' chakra, lightning; Sasuke calls the latter Indra's Arrow, his strongest attack. Susanoo can also be formed around the Nine-Tails in order to give it a sword and armour of its own, and serve as a medium for his various techniques like Chidori. Rinnegan After receiving the Six Paths Chakra, Sasuke's left Sharingan evolved into a Rinnegan. Unlike Hagoromo's, his Rinnegan has a secondary state that has six tomoe around the eye, representing its full power. When drained of its power, Sasuke's Rinnegan cannot access this state for an extended period of time, until after its restoration, likewise affecting his Mangekyo Sharingan.84 As a true wielder, Sasuke can deactivate his Rinnegan at will, though, this was only after two years of mastering it. As a result, using the Rinnegan repeatedly seems to require Sasuke to close his eye to recharge (or at least speed it up), although it doesn't seem to exhaust him due to his massive reserves. Over-usage will begin straining him, as seen in his final battle with Naruto and it had to keep it closed for the remainder of the battle. Though his Rinnegan manifested only in one eye, its power is still on par with its dual variant. With the Rinnegan, Sasuke gains the ability to touch Madara's Chakra Disruption Blades without suffering their after effects,86 as well as see invisible targets. Black Zetsu also alluded that Sasuke's Rinnegan may be the reason for why he was able to resist the influence of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and why its light could not penetrate through his Susanoo. Furthermore, the Rinnegan also makes Sasuke the only one able to detect traces of Kaguya's chakra. Sasuke's Rinnegan can still access his left Sharingan's powers, such as Amaterasu and Susanoo, and cast genjutsu strong enough to control all nine tailed beasts at once. Uniquely, he has also gained the ability to transport himself or any target near him within a limited range. He can use it to see invisible targets. Once fully mastered, Sasuke became able to teleport much greater distances and even between separate dimensions, but only a fixed number of times before needing to recharge, during which he can once again only teleport in small distances. This is noticed when his Rinnegan had lost its six tomoe. After further adjusting to Hagoromo's dojutsu, Sasuke can wield the powers of the Six Paths Technique. He could use the Deva Path to seal all nine tailed beasts each within a Chibaku Tensei satellite, and the Preta Path to absorb one's chakra through physical contact, even with his eye closed. Yin-Kurama noted that because Sasuke's Rinnegan was still new at the time, he could not absorb and utilise techniques simultaneously. Using Susanoo as a vessel, Sasuke can control the tailed beasts' chakra much like the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, briefly overwhelming Naruto in their final battle. Yin-Kurama also noted that Sasuke's merger of the tailed beasts' chakra was on par with Hagoromo's separation of the Ten-Tails' chakra. With this, his lightning-nature techniques applied through Susanoo increase greatly in power. He can sense Naruto's chakra through dimensions and accordingly travel dimensions by himself or with others; in the , these inter-dimensional portals manifest as dark oval-shaped spirals. His most frequent usage of his Rinnegan is for Amenotejikara, which allows him to instantly swap places with anything in a specific range. Intelligence Sasuke is very intelligent, having earned top grades in his Academy class. In combat, he usually remains on the offensive, rarely pausing in his attacks or falling back to regroup. Rather, Sasuke observes as he goes, being mindful to all factors on the battlefield and analysing his opponents' techniques to understand their mechanics and purposes. He is accordingly accustomed to coming up with tactics on the fly, choosing whatever approach, no matter how elaborate, will be most successful at the exact moment. His strategies could be considered irresponsible or risky, as he has on more than one occasion placed himself or allies in harm's way. Despite this, his actions have the tendency to pay off, earning praise for his analytical skills from Minato Namikaze and Madara Uchiha. Despite how he proceeds in the midst of combat, Sasuke does tend to be prepared before entering a fight, or as best as he can: he specifically trains to be faster than Gaara's sand; he attacks Orochimaru at the moment when his body is weakest; he equips himself with the Lightning Flash Blade Creation so that he can compete with Itachi Uchiha's speed. He may even have a strategy in mind that he can work towards throughout a fight, as when he spends part of his fight with Itachi creating conditions for Kirin, even relying on Itachi's own jutsu to facilitate in its use. He has shown tactical sense in teamwork, able to instantly understand an ally's battle plan with little communication and act accordingly to make it successful. Other Skills Under Orochimaru's training, Sasuke was subjected to the Sannin's experiments and as a result developed physical enhancements, including an immunity towards most forms of poisons. After absorbing Orochimaru, Sasuke gained the Sannin's regenerative powers, allowing him to heal at a much faster rate than usual, and access Orochimaru's chakra as extra reserves. He could also shed his skin and produce a new body to repair any damage he sustained. He is also one of the few Uchiha who can access the Naka Shrine. Sasuke can also cooperate with others, performing a series of precise and coordinated attacks with his brother Itachi despite their previous volatile relationship. After his meeting with Hagoromo, Sasuke could temporarily use a powerful fuinjutsu alongside Naruto, which was strong enough to seal Kaguya. In the anime, during Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, Sasuke was shown using his chidori stream technique with Shisui's fire. As an adult, he also demonstrated the ability to utilise the Shadow Clone Technique. New Era (Plot) Roughly three years after the war, Sakura left the village to find Sasuke and demanded that she go with him on his travelling. Because of her refusal to leave his side, he relented. During their traveling, they got married and consummated their relationship, impregnating Sakura with his child. By the time Sakura went into labor, Sasuke brought her to one of Orochimaru's hideouts and had Karin help with the delivery. Sakura gave birth to a daughter, whom she and Sasuke named Sarada. The birth of his daughter essentially marked the beginning of the restoration of the Uchiha clan, as Sasuke always wanted. Afterwards, the Uchiha family returned to Konoha and lived a normal life for a couple of years. Academy Arc In the anime, after a remnant of Root failed to destroy the village, Naruto brought the research of Gozu Tenno to Sasuke. Realising the true nature behind it, Sasuke was amazed at how close Danzō came to replicating Kaguya's technique. After noting that it would help in his investigation, Naruto suggested that Sasuke return to the village for a while. Sasuke however simply asked Naruto to apologise to Sakura for his continued absence before leaving. Sarada Uchiha Arc Eleven years after Sarada's birth, after searching through Kaguya's Dimensions, Sasuke returns to earth through his portal. Upon arriving in a forest, both his dōjutsu weaken from overusing them. Immediately after, Sasuke is attacked by a hooded figure. Upon fending him off, Sasuke discovers the assailant to be a young boy with Sharingan whose clothes bear the Uchiha crest. As he questions who the boy is, the child retreats, which prompts Sasuke to send a message by hawk to Naruto to inform him of the encounter and to ask of a meeting with him at Ridge Tower. After waiting for a while, he is found by Sarada, who had left Konoha to find her father. Seeing her with the Sharingan and having the Uchiha crest on her back, Sasuke suspects she is connected to the boy and almost attacks her until she calls him "Papa" and he realises she is his own daughter. When Naruto arrives shortly afterwards, Sasuke reprimands him for bringing children like Sarada and Chocho Akimichi along. Sarada defends Naruto, insisting that she came against his wishes because she wanted to meet Sasuke, wanted to know where he's been all these years and who Karin in the photo of Team Taka is. He ignores her questions and says his actions have nothing to do with her, causing her to storm out, crying. When Sasuke senses Naruto and Sarada being attacked by Shin Uchiha - the "father" of the boy from before - Sasuke rushes out to lend assistance. He swats away Shin's projectiles and, when Shin takes his sword, he blasts him with a Great Fireball and takes the sword back. However, this brief contact allows Shin to control the sword remotely with his Mangekyo Sharingan, which he uses when he has an opening to stab Naruto. Shin turns his attention to Sarada and Sasuke rushes to protect Sarada from Shin's follow-up attack. Sakura then appears and incapacitates Shin with a punch. Sakura apologises to Sasuke for not keeping things clear to Sarada about his mission but Sasuke insists he is at fault before one of Shin's creatures teleports him and Sakura away. Unable to locate their whereabouts, Sasuke believes Orochimaru knows where Shin is and, learning Shin is targeting Sarada, he decides to take her with them to ensure her safety. When they arrive, Sasuke promises retaliation against Orochimaru if he is in anyway involved in the attack on his daughter or the kidnapping of his wife. Orochimaru denies responsibility, confessing that Shin in an old experiment has long since lost control of; Shin's "sons" are actually his genetic clones. To help them deal with Shin, Orochimaru offers some suggestions about where they might find him. when Orochimaru suggests Sakura is already dead, Sasuke denies this as a possibility due to her not being a weak woman and she likely already finished Shin off by the time they find her. When his Rinnegan recharges from his earlier dimensional travels, Sasuke manifests his Susanoo and transports Naruto, Sarada, and Chōchō to Shin's hideout. As Sasuke guessed, Sakura is already in the middle of combat when they arrive and Sasuke uses his Susanoo to punch the largest clone as he grabs Sakura. He pulls the scalpels out of her arm and burns them with Amaterasu before asking her if she can heal herself now. Sasuke and the others proceed to fight Shin, who is killed by the clones who then turn on Sasuke and Naruto. When the spying creature tries to attack Sarada, Sasuke calls out to her to warn her and she kills the creature before activating her Sharingan and using her Chakra Enhanced Release to defeat some of the clones, making Sasuke smirk with pride. When the battle is over, Sasuke comments how soft Naruto is for offering to do no harm to the clones if they surrender but agrees to drop them off at the Konoha Orphanage. When Sarada learns Sakura is really her biological mother, she asks her father if he truly feels connected to Sakura. He replies yes because Sarada, as their daughter, is proof of their bond, moving Sarada to tears. Sasuke spends some time with Sarada and Sakura in Konoha, even posing for their first family photo. After some time, Sasuke was about to leave again and hugged his daughter as she sadly asked him when he will come back. Sasuke tells Sarada to not make such a face and pokes her on the forehead, promising to come home soon, which makes her very happy. Sakura gives him a bagged lunch and hopes for a kiss in return, but he leaves without further comment, only smirking in amusement as he walks away. Versus Momoshiki Arc Several months later after much searching, Sasuke locates a scroll in Kaguya's palace within her ice dimension. There, he is attacked by Kinshiki and Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki, while barely surviving a lethal attack from the former. By using his Rinnegan's abilities, he is ultimately able to escape. Unable to read the scroll with his Rinnegan, Sasuke takes it back to Konoha to have it deciphered. He stops at Naruto's house to deliver it to him, but is attacked by Naruto's son, Boruto Uzumaki, who mistook Sasuke for his father. Sasuke easily blocks the attack and asks for Naruto's whereabouts; Hinata, Naruto's wife, tells him Naruto is still at the Hokage's office. On finding Naruto, Sasuke remarks that Boruto is quite similar to him. Naruto disagrees, thinking he has more in common with Sasuke, but retracts and says Boruto isn't like him either. Naruto thinks they are behind the new generation, which Sasuke disagrees because the nature of shinobi never changes, and they make a bet over this. As Sasuke leaves to go home to his family, Boruto launches a sneak attack. Sasuke once again avoids it effortlessly and pushes Boruto over. Impressed, Boruto asks Sasuke to train him, having heard that Sasuke is Naruto only equal and thus best qualified to help him become stronger than his father. Sasuke tells Boruto to ask him again after he's learned to use the Rasengan. Boruto does just that and demonstrates it after he becomes able to form it. On seeing it, Sasuke remarks that Boruto's Rasengan is quite small, which Boruto wrongly believes to mean he's been rejected, causing him to subsequently run off. Sarada then reveals herself to her father, and tries to convince him that he was being too hard on Boruto, as he usually didn't apply that kind of dedication to anything. Sasuke tells his daughter that Boruto jumped to the wrong conclusion, and that he was going to agree to make him his student. In truth, Sasuke was quite satisfied, further impressed by the wind nature Boruto applies to his Rasengan. The next day, Boruto demonstrates a normal-sized Rasengan, which Sasuke recognises to be a result of using the Kote. Boruto tries to cover this up by boasting about his exceptional skill being the reason for the remarkable progress of his Rasengan. Sasuke cryptically references the fact that Boruto was willing to cheat to attain his goal by saying Boruto was quite different from Naruto and he hoped it wasn't the case. Nonetheless, he agrees to train Boruto since he already met his requirement. After his day training with Sasuke, the two sit by a fire and talk. Boruto starts by asking about his father's weaknesses. Sasuke explains that Naruto had many weaknesses, but nonetheless managed to pull himself up and become Hokage. Believing Boruto's approach to be incorrect - Sasuke explained that Naruto is better understood by the hardships he overcame in his life than the flaws he may still have. This doesn't satisfy Boruto, so he throws himself into training for the upcoming Chūnin Exams, shurikenjutsu figuring prominently in Sasuke's lessons. While training, Boruto struggles with bending his throws - complaining that shurikenjutsu is Sarada's specialty, because she is Sasuke's daughter. Sasuke retorts this assertion by applying the same reasoning to Boruto regarding the Shadow Clone Technique, of which Boruto can only create two, as opposed to his father - who can create thousands. Sasuke keeps tabs on how deciphering the scroll is going, but it isn't until the day of the Chūnin Exams' finals that it is finally finished. Reading what it says, Sasuke finds his suspicions about the threat Kaguya was preparing for confirmed and rushes to inform Naruto. When he arrives at the stadium where the finals are being held, Kinshiki and Momoshiki are already attacking. Sasuke rescues Sarada from falling debris but is confronted by Kinshiki while he tries to get her to safety. Shikamaru Nara briefly restrains Kinshiki and Momoshiki, allowing Sasuke to tell Naruto what the scroll said: that Kinshiki and Momoshiki harvest planets' chakra in order to prolong their lives and that Kaguya was building a White Zetsu Army to prepare for their inevitable invasion. As Momoshiki starts attacking, Naruto forms his Tailed Beast Mode around Boruto and Sarada in order to protect them; Sasuke layers his Susanoo over this to provide additional protection. The shield is insufficient against Momoshiki, so Naruto instructs Sasuke to focus on protecting the children while he fights Momoshiki alone. Sasuke does so, staying with Boruto and Sarada and, as a result, preventing him from stopping Naruto's capture. With his father gone, Boruto feels guilty about how he treated Naruto and reprimanded himself for being so uncool. Overhearing this, Sasuke affirmed Boruto's words - and noted that if it weren't for his mother and sister, he would be in the same position Naruto was in the past. After Boruto asks Sasuke how his father overcame his hardships, Sasuke suggests Boruto ask Naruto in person and also telling him Naruto is stronger than him up until now, and to that end invites Boruto to join him in rescuing him. When Boruto asks why he'd be invited and why Sasuke agreed to train him in the first place, Sasuke explains that Boruto is an exceptionally gifted shinobi has the potential to surpass Naruto because he hates to lose. The Five Kage then reveal themselves and offer their assistance to rescue Naruto, revealing they are on friendly terms with Sasuke. Before they leave, however, Sasuke lends his forehead protector to Boruto, who had his confiscated by Naruto for cheating in the exams. Sasuke uses his Rinnegan to open a portal to Momoshiki's Planet. Before they leave, Hinata tries to stop Boruto from leaving - who then puts on Sasuke's headband and affirms confidently that he's going to go save his father (reminding Hinata of Naruto when he was young). Sasuke approves of this demeanour and notes that Boruto is finally starting to carry himself like a true shinobi. When they arrive on Momoshiki's planet, which has long since had its chakra harvested - the group frees Naruto from Momoshiki and Kinshiki, who had him bound to a tree resembling the God Tree, and immediately engage them in battle. Sasuke assists the Sixth Mizukage and Fourth Tsuchikage with restraining Kinshiki and then joins Naruto, the Fifth Kazekage, and the Fifth Raikage against Momoshiki; he warns them not to use ninjutsu since Momoshiki can absorb them. Kinshiki breaks free and drives them back, then allows Momoshiki to absorb him to become stronger. Naruto and Sasuke start fighting Momoshiki with taijutsu, during the course of which Sasuke is badly burned. Naruto catches him and heals his wounds with the Nine-Tails' chakra, allowing them to combine their Tailed Beast Mode and Susanoo to strike him down. With Momoshiki down, the uninvited Katasuke tries to finish him off. This unwittingly revives him Momoshiki, giving him a chance to paralyse Naruto and the Kage with the Shadow Paralysis Jutsu while Sasuke elsewhere protects Boruto. Sasuke suggests that Boruto attack Momoshiki with his Rasengan, depending on its wind-nature to catch him off guard. This works and the Kage are freed, but an earlier injury prevents Naruto from fighting. He adds his chakra to Boruto's Rasengan, which Sasuke then helps him find an opening to use to destroy Momoshiki with. After the battle, Sasuke tells Naruto he won their bet and they return to Konoha, and Sasuke posed for a photograph with Naruto, Boruto, and the other Kage. However, before they departed from the other dimension, Sasuke managed to catch a glimpse of Boruto's conversation with Momoshiki's fading spirit thanks to his Rinnegan, as well as notice that some technique had been used to stop the flow of time so the conversation passed unseen for everyone else. Mujina Bandits Arc Boruto later tells Sasuke of his encounter with Momoshiki, and informs him of the mark on his palm, leading to Sasuke telling Boruto that it wasn't normal and to also be on guard. A few days later after Shojoji, the Mujina Bandits leader, was apprehended, Sai has Sasuke come in to interrogate him. As he questions Shojoji about the mark on Boruto's palm, Shojoji reveals that it's associated with the oganisation Kara and the mark's nature is vaguely similar to Orochimaru's Juinjutsu. Ao Arc During Naruto's fight against Boruto at the Training Hall, Sasuke watches the match from the sideline. Afterwards, Sasuke arrives at the Hokage's office, where he tells Boruto of the value of Scientific Ninja Weapon and that the danger of the world has yet to be driven out. Creation and Conception Development ''' Sasuke was not included in Kishimoto's original development of the ''Naruto ''manga. After speaking with his editor about the future of the series, he was advised to add a rival character for the series' protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki, so he created Sasuke. To learn more about creating an effective rivalry, Kishimoto read a variety of manga to gather ideas, and he combined these ideal elements into Naruto and Sasuke's relationship. Another inspiration for their relationship was Kishimoto's own with his twin brother, Seishi. Since the two were young, Masashi worried about Seishi whenever he faced failure such as in high school or college, and tried to help him. To contrast him to Naruto, Kishimoto is careful to never make Sasuke too emotional, instead depicting him as a "cool genius". Kishimoto feels he created the ideal rivalry. He wanted Naruto and Sasuke to feel like brothers and rivals at the same time, building on their mutual experience of childhood loneliness. At first, Sasuke did not view Naruto as an opponent. However, Kishimoto changed his mind, resulting in Sasuke becoming surprised at Naruto's growth and considering him a rival. In Part I's finale, the two characters engage in a one-on-one combat and grow further apart. Kishimoto has said that he did not want Sasuke to recognize Naruto as an equal until his development further in Part II. '''Design Since he was developed to be Naruto's opposite, Kishimoto remarked that Sasuke was the most memorable character for him to design. He also considered Sasuke his most difficult character to create, because his design gave Kishimoto a number of problems. He lacked a proper idea of what Sasuke's face should look like, and his initial drafts of Sasuke appeared too old or mature for a character the same age as Naruto. Original designs of Sasuke had a number of necklaces and ties around his arms and legs as a result of Kishimoto's habit of giving characters as much ornamentation as possible. Realizing he could not draw such a complex character on a weekly basis, Kishimoto simplified the design to be a basic contrast of Naruto's costume. Sasuke was also the most difficult character for Kishimoto to draw. He felt that his drawings erred toward making Sasuke look too old, a result of his inexperience in drawing character mature beyond their years. Sasuke's hair, originally kept short to save Kishimoto's time, slowly grew longer as the series progressed. Midway through Part I, Kishimoto drew a new costume for Sasuke featuring a number of belts strapped around his arms and legs, but because it took too long to draw, he returned to Sasuke's original costume design. Despite the time and energy Kishimoto spends drawing Sasuke, he has become his favorite character to draw. He also ranked Sasuke with Sakura in terms of drawing difficulty. In some cases, his superiors asked Kishimoto to redraw parts of the manga that did not illustrate Sasuke well. When designing Sasuke's appearance in Part II, Kishimoto's main objective was to make him look cool. For this, he tried several outfits, such as wrapping him in Shimenawa to evoke the design Orochimaru, then Sasuke's master. He also tried other clothing such as a turtleneck and a military uniform to show "cleanliness". However, he ended up choosing Japanese-style clothes with a Chokuto-style sword. For the film The Last: Naruto the Movie, Kishimoto gave Sasuke a new, young adult design, with "even sharper" facial features. Trivia * Sasuke stars in a spin-off manga created by Masashi Kishimoto's assistant, Kenji Taira: Sasuke Uchiha's Sharingan Legend. * In the Naruto character popularity polls, Sasuke is one of four characters to have always placed in the top ten of every poll. * In the Live Spectacle Naruto, the role of Sasuke was played by Ryuji Sato. * According to Hyō no Sho, while in the Academy, Sasuke had an A in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, a B in classroom attitude, a C in positivity, and a F in cooperation. Quotes * (To Itachi) "That's okay… Just as long as we can be together sometimes." * (To Team 7) "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan, and kill a certain someone." * (To Sakura about Team 7) "I know the four of us have worked together. And for a while, I thought I could choose that path instead… but in the end… I've decided on revenge. That's always been my purpose of living." * (To Naruto) "Just shut up for once! What the hell do you know about it?! It's not like you ever had a family in the first place! You were on your own right from the beginning, what makes you think you know anything about it?! Huh?! I'm suffering now because I had those ties, how on earth could you possibly understand, what it feels like to lose all that!" * (To Tobi) "If you want to ridicule me as a brat swayed by his emotions, go ahead. To accept and adopt Itachi's intention would be childish. The foolish sputtering of those who don't know hatred. If anyone who criticises my way of life were to come forward, I'd turn around and kill every single one of their loved ones, so that they too can grasp what it's like… to experience this hatred of mine." * (To Team Kakashi) "I finally… I finally got my first bit of revenge for Itachi… it's like the disgrace of the Uchiha clan is being cleansed. Like I'm separating the Uchiha clan from the rotten ninja world. You might even say it's what Konoha always wanted. You always repudiated the Uchiha clan, so now we will disappear from your memories just like you always wanted. When I kill everyone in Konoha! By severing the bond, we will be purified! That will be the true revival of the Uchiha clan! * (To Kakashi about his current dream) "While it's true I once desired destruction… and the only goal I had was revenge… things are different now. Because that which is destroyed can always be fixed and rebuilt. Villages freed from the clutches and employ of darkness… what I desire is to reform the entire shinobi world! What I am calling for, what I am bringing forth… that is… Revolution." * (To Kakashi, about Naruto) "If he's not here, then there's no choice but me to protect you." * (To Boruto about Naruto's weaknesses) "Weaknesses? Listen, he was full of weaknesses. He was a good-for nothing. But he pulled himself up with his own strength and became Hokage… You don't need to understand who Naruto is now, you need to know the Naruto who made it all the way here." * (To Boruto, for repeating Naruto's past mistakes) "On top of that, you made your little sister cry, your mother's been hurt, and your father is gone. If it weren't for your sister who adores you and your mother who worries so much about you, you'd be in the same situation your dad used to be in the past." * (To Naruto) "The soul of shinobi remains the same, even for your kid." Category:Uchiha Clan Category:Characters Category:Male Category:Konoha 11